Beauty and the Beastmaster (Mystic Springs Book 3)

by Linda Winstead Jones, Lisa Childs

She smiled. Good lord, she looked as if she was about to lick her lips. “The last of the Boltons left Mystic Springs years ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that you have Bolton blood. It’s been sleeping inside you, just waiting. You should thank Gabi. She brought you here. It was meant to be.”

  Nutjob. “Yeah, well, I’m here to take her and the kid off your hands.” He didn’t tell her Gabi wouldn’t make it to the interstate alive. There was lots of deep water and plenty of woods around here. Either would do nicely for body disposal. Jenna didn’t need to know everything.

  “Before you do that, hear me out.” She moved closer, hands out to skim all around his body without touching him. “You have so much power. I have a little, and I’ve learned to use what I have, but you…” She sighed. “With a little training you could do any damn thing you wanted to do.”

  “I always do any damn thing I want to do.”

  She licked her lips and leaned in, close to him and still not touching.

  Blake’s dick responded. Okay, so she wasn’t his type for a long-term relationship. That didn’t mean he couldn’t fuck this crazy blonde senseless. He could pretend she was Gabi. Just thinking about getting his hands on his ex-wife had him hard as a rock.

  “What do you see in that mousy brunette? She’s so unworthy of you, Blake. You need a woman as powerful as you are. You need a witch to match your warlock.” She licked his throat with the tip of her tongue. “Our babies would be so powerful even Mystic Springs couldn’t contain them.”

  Witch? Warlock? He placed his hands on Jenna’s shoulders and moved her gently back. “Look, I don’t know what your game is…”

  Jenna held out one hand, palm up, and with a whispered word fire licked her palm. She seemed to feel no pain, but it was real fire, hot and flickering. With another word, it was extinguished. She turned and looked at a vase full of dusty plastic flowers, sitting on an equally dusty desk. Again, a word he did not know passed her lips. The flower rose out of the vase, floated in the air a moment, and then fell across the desk, sending dust motes into the air.

  “Parlor tricks,” he whispered, wondering how she’d done that.

  “Look at me,” Jenna commanded, and he did.

  Her face shimmered, the air around it moved. Suddenly he was looking not at Jenna, but at Gabi. Well, those were Gabi’s features marred by Jenna’s confident smile.

  The illusion didn’t last.

  “How did you do that?” he asked.

  “Let me teach you,” she said. “It’s my gift to remold men into someone, or something, better. The drawback is, most men don’t want to be changed. They don’t want my help.”

  Of course they didn’t. Whatever else she was, the blonde was a real ball-breaker. Most men knew enough to run like hell from a woman like this one. But…

  “Can you teach me to do tricks like you just did?”

  “I can, but you must accept that they are not tricks. Magic flows within you. Undisciplined, powerful magic.”

  He liked the sound of that, farfetched as it was.

  “But there’s something I want from you in return,” she whispered.

  Of course there was. What woman did anything without a price?

  “I’ll teach you everything I know, but before you take Gabi and Mia and get out of town I want to be pregnant with your child.”

  Blake started to balk at her suggestion. She’d eventually show up wanting child support. She’d hold a kid over his head from now until the end of time. Jenna might say she didn’t want anything from him, but one day…

  “In less than two weeks, I’m going to cast a spell that will isolate this town and everyone in it from the rest of the world. We need to heal, to grow, to reclaim who and what we are. You’ll be long gone by then. You’ll forget me, you’ll forget that there’s a baby. And there will be no way for me to get to you.”

  Had she read his mind? That was a ridiculous idea, as was everything else she’d said.

  Jenna made herself look like Gabi again, and she whispered, “Yes, I did.”

  “What the hell?” he said, giving in, grabbing the woman who offered herself to him and pulling her close. He was unable to resist the temptation of Gabi’s face on a willing body.

  Chapter 12

  Gabi ran from Silas’s truck to Cindy’s front door. What if Blake had been here, what if he had Mia? She knocked frantically, and was answered by Judge’s bark. That sound reassured her. The dog had been hers for a few days, and she already knew his barks. That was a simple “someone’s at the door.”

  Cindy opened the door a minute later. She’d been working on a painting, and had a smudge of pink on her face and several smudges in different colors on her smock. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  Gabi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Mia toddling for the door, a happy “Mama, Mama, Mama,” on her lips. Judge trailed close behind.

  “I’m taking the day off,” Gabi said. Her voice shook a little.

  Cindy waved to Silas, who was making his way to the door.

  Gabi already regretted telling him everything. She sure as hell didn’t want everyone knowing her business. Maybe the man looking for a haircut hadn’t been Blake at all. Maybe she was being paranoid. Lots of men had blond hair and blue eyes, and any one of them might’ve been annoyed and unpleasant when they found a place of business closed.

  Paranoia was reason enough to pack up and move on. It was time, anyway. There was a sadness in the knowledge that she had to move on. She liked it here. She had friends. She had Silas…

  No, Silas was just a distraction.

  And now he knew the truth. In a panic she’d told him everything! She had no choice but to leave.

  She collected her daughter, the diaper bag, and the dog, and with Silas beside her they walked across the neighboring lawn to her house. Judge seemed to be especially on guard. The bloodhound stayed close, his gaze scanning the path ahead and on occasion behind. Animals were more empathetic than humans. Judge had picked up on her mood. He knew something was wrong.

  Gabi half expected Silas to peel off and head back to his truck. Knowing what a fool she’d been, how gullible, how blind… he’d lose all respect for her. Assuming he’d had any respect for her to begin with. But he didn’t leave. He stayed beside her, as on guard as Judge.

  Juggling Mia, the diaper bag, and her purse, Gabi reached inside the purse and felt around for her house keys. Silas tried to take Mia from her, to help, she knew, to take something off her hands, but she wouldn’t let him.

  She needed her daughter in her arms right now. Holding Mia grounded her. She needed that as she thought ahead to what she’d need to run again.

  Her head was spinning. She had cash, but her car tag had expired months ago. If she was stopped by the police, maybe a state trooper, she had no valid driver’s license to offer. Maybe some women could talk themselves out of that kind of situation, but not her. She’d stammer and get flushed and look guiltier than she really was. Then what?

  Inside the house, she dropped the diaper bag and her purse on the couch. She would’ve liked to hold Mia a while longer, to cuddle while she gathered her thoughts, but the baby squirmed and kicked her feet until she was released. Mia ran for her bedroom, and her toy box. Judge trailed behind, casting one long glance back.

  Leaving Gabi alone with Silas.

  She looked at him. Not long ago she’d been so satisfied to simply lie with him. She’d let her guard slip; she’d let herself believe, for one long and wonderful moment, that she could have a man like him in her life.

  “You can go,” she said, forcing the words past the knot in her throat.

  He didn’t move. “No. I’m not leaving you alone until we know for sure if the man Jordan talked to is your ex-husband, or not.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” If she told Silas she was going to run, would he try to stop her? She’d told him she didn’t, couldn’t, love him, but did he think there might be more, in spite of her protests? “I need time to think, and I
can’t do that while you’re here.”

  “Fine.” He leaned in and down, kissed her in an achingly familiar way, and headed for the door.

  Maybe she could smear another layer of mud over the date on the license plate. It was a short-term solution, but better than stealing someone else’s tag. Would she take Judge with her or leave him with Silas? She didn’t want to separate Mia and the bloodhound, but traveling with a big dog would be a challenge.

  Handling Mia would be a nightmare if she took her dog away. She loved that bloodhound. One day Mia would learn that love wasn’t real, but for now…

  Silas stopped by the door, turned and looked at her. “Do you have a folding chair?”

  Gabi was pulled out of her frantic internal planning. “Why?”

  “I can sit on the ground, but if I’m going to plant myself on your front porch I’d just as soon have a chair.”

  She shook her head. “You’re not staying.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  It was clear arguing with him was going to be a waste of time. And dammit, she couldn’t have Mystic Springs’ critter guy camped on her front porch for hours. People would talk. They’d ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

  “Please, just go.”

  He walked toward her. She’d never seen such determination on his face. “You want me to leave you alone so you can run again? You want me to step back and let you light out of Mystic Springs while no one is watching?”

  “There’s nothing between us…”

  “There’s everything between us,” he said darkly. “More than I wanted. More, I suspect, than you wanted. If the man who’s shown up in town is your ex-husband, then let’s face him together. He has no claim on you. He doesn’t belong here. You do. I didn’t see that until now.”

  “I don’t belong anywhere,” she whispered.

  Silas placed his hands on her shoulders. Those hands were large, warm, and steady. His touch comforted her, steadied her.

  “You belong with me. I’ll fight everyone to keep you.”

  It was a nice thought. “I hope you don’t have to fight everyone.” It was a tease, an unexpected light moment in a dark time. “You don’t understand. Blake is… he’s not like you.”

  “He hurt you. I never will.”

  “I know, but…”

  “I’ll kill him,” Silas said.

  “Metaphorically speaking…”

  “Literally speaking.”

  Gabi placed a hand on Silas’s cheek. She wouldn’t let him actually commit murder, tempting as it was, but not because she didn’t want Blake dead. She did. But she wouldn’t let Silas carry the burden of taking a life, and she sure as hell didn’t want him going to jail. “How about a compromise?” Something between flight and murder. “Stand with me, if I do have to face Blake again. Help me be strong. Help me protect my daughter.”

  Blake was a tough guy when it was just him and a woman he considered to be his property. Would facing Silas be enough to make him back down?

  “I will. But first, there’s something I have to tell you.”

  Gabi held her breath. Now what?

  Silas hesitated. Whatever he had to tell her, he wasn’t eager to spit it out. He opened his mouth, closed it, furrowed his brow. “Never mind. It’s not that important. Let’s grab some lunch and then I’ll take you to The Egg for your afternoon shift with the gray-hairs.”

  “Be nice,” she said. “One day you’ll have gray hair.”

  “I think I feel one coming in now,” he teased.

  She always walked to The Egg on Friday afternoons, dressing for the weather when it was necessary, afraid to get her car out in case someone took note of the expired license plate. She never took Mia with her, and doing so now would require a diaper bag, as well as a car seat they’d have to wrangle into the tiny back seat of Silas’s truck. She could thank him for helping, for not being anything like her ex-husband. But that would be too telling so she simply asked, in her most casual voice, “Are you accusing me of making you old before your time?”

  He winked at her, shrugged his shoulders, and headed for the kitchen. “Could be. Is there leftover stew?”

  His truck had never been so crowded. Gabi in the passenger seat, Mia strapped into a car seat for the short trip, and Judge in the back seat, along with a bulging diaper bag and a couple of doggie toys. Gabi looked a little nervous, and he knew why. Neither of them could be sure it was her ex who’d gone to Jordan’s ice cream shop asking about a haircut, but why take chances?

  Silas looked out the window, hoping Gabi didn’t notice his sour expression. If he’d doubted for a moment that he’d chosen the wrong side when he’d agreed to help Jenna, those doubts were now gone.

  He needed to talk to Clint. If he hadn’t finished his book by now, that was just too bad. After that he’d talk to Luke, too, if he could pull the man’s mind away from wedding plans and keeping the entire Benedict clan happy. Luke had definitely been distracted for the past couple of months. Who else? Susan, maybe.

  He didn’t want Gabi to leave Mystic Springs. Not yet. When the time came for her to move on, if that time ever came, it should be her choice.

  Parked in The Egg parking lot, they wrangled everything out of the truck. Kid, dog, baby, and all the things necessary for their comfort made the trip to the building interesting. Gabi carried Mia, who’d been thrilled to be released from her car seat, even though the trip had been a short one. He’d noticed that the car seat was getting too small for the kid. She’d need a new one, even if Gabi’s only trips were to the clinic in Eufaula.

  Judge seemed to be torn between Silas and his new family. He danced around them, weaving in and out. Silas had the strap of a pink diaper bag slung over one shoulder, and carried Judge’s moose in one hand and a red ball in the other.

  Herding two dozen hyper squirrels would’ve been easier.

  In the small salon area on the ground floor of the building, Gabi’s regular customers waited. Helen Benedict, her friends Ramona and Ginger. And Frannie Smith, who kept her sparse hair dyed jet black. They were chatting as Silas and his crew walked into the room. He was almost positive he’d heard the word “wedding” on Helen’s lips. Of course he had. She wasn’t going to keep her opinions about her grandson’s wedding to herself.

  Silas had agreed to keep an eye on Mia and Judge while Gabi did her thing. Just as well. This many women crammed into such a small space, all of them talking at once and yet somehow understanding one another, made him antsy.

  All the women had to say hello to Mia. They kissed the baby and gave Judge some attention, too, while Gabi set up her area and prepared to do whatever she was going to do. And then, Gabi lifted Mia and handed the kid to Silas.

  “Good luck,” she said with a sly smile.

  Silas left the diaper bag behind, an excuse to check up on Gabi when he felt the need, and carried Mia into the main gathering room. He half expected her to protest leaving her mother, but she didn’t. She was perfectly happy to let him carry her.

  Babysitting was not one of his strengths. He didn’t even like kids all that much. He didn’t dislike them, but until they reached their late teens they were unruly. Unpredictable. Messy.

  Mia seemed to sense his unease and rewarded him with a slobbery kiss on his cheek.

  It wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

  Half a dozen gentlemen had gathered for the afternoon, and as the women had been, they were thrilled to have a child and a dog visit them. All of them were very careful to contain their powers whenever Gabi was around, but Mia was a different story. She wouldn’t be able to tell anyone if she saw an old man levitate out of his chair, or juggle four tennis balls without using hands, or make a rainbow appear out of thin air.

  The old men’s wrinkled faces lit up as they entertained the child. They tried to get Mia to sit in their laps but the kid was far too wound up this afternoon to sit anywhere, so their requests were roundly rejected, with a squeal and an adorable baby giggle as she ran away. Ev
en that made them laugh. It was a game, to her and to them.

  Judge was not as anti-social. He allowed each of the men to give him a gentle scratch behind the ears, as if he were saying hello to them one after another. Through it all he wouldn’t let Mia out of his sight for more than a minute.

  Silas was willing to babysit, to keep an eye on these two females who were suddenly a part of his life, but he drew the line at changing a diaper. When it became clear that was necessary he carried Mia to Gabi, interrupting Frannie Smith’s complaints about her oven still being broken.

  Thank God. If Mystic Springs had seen its last Funeral Cake, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

  While Gabi was taking care of the diaper, Helen left her chair and walked over to stand beside Silas. She scratched the top of Judge’s head, then looked up at Silas and said, “You don’t need what you think you need.”

  “What?” Silas asked.

  “I wish I could explain in more detail, but I can’t. Something is wrong,” Helen whispered. “The universe is wonky in some way I can’t identify.”

  Gabi, who finished the diaper chore in record time and was walking Silas’s way, heard that last sentence. She placed a comforting hand on Helen’s arm and asked. “Are you okay? Should I call someone?”

  Helen patted Gabi’s arm, then stroked Mia’s fine hair. “Nothing’s wrong with me, dear. It’s bigger than that. It’s more important. The entire town is under…”

  Tag Keen, who seemed to be at the front desk more often than not, walked into the room with purpose. The man could move quickly. “Now Helen, let Gabi finish up and get out of here. It’s almost time for supper.”

  Helen lifted her chin in defiance. “I don’t like to eat before six.”

  “Well, we’re having supper at five-thirty tonight.” He took her arm. “You look lovely, by the way.”

  Helen smiled and blushed, and leaned into the man who was at least thirty years younger than she was. “Why, thank you, Tag. Aren’t you sweet?” She seemed to forget her warning, her insistence that something was wrong.